Arsenal’s predicted lineup against Bayern Munich

Fans have called for Petr Cech, Arsenal’s first choice, to be dropped to second after his disappointing performance back at Stamford Bridge. Despite that, Arsene Wenger continued to play Cech in the match against Hull City and the goalkeeper did manage to keep a clean sheet for his team.

Nonetheless, it is almost 100% certain that David Ospina will be the goalkeeper to face the Bayern Munich team at Allianz Arena on Wednesday night unless he falls sick or suffers an injury.

Hector Bellerin made a quick return to the Arsenal squad after suffering a concussion in the previous game against Chelsea. On Saturday’s game, Bellerin looked extremely active in the attack, playing so upfront that at times, he was ahead of Theo Walcott.

However, that meant he had to use his speed to track back and defend. On one occasion, it nearly leads to a Hull City goal. The Spaniard may not be that lucky while playing against Bayern.

Bellerin needs to be on the lookout at all times and knows when to attack and when to stay back.

The centre-backs Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi are most likely going to keep their places unless one of them suffers an injury.

Kieran Gibbs was the left back chosen to face Hull over the weekend. Wenger could have decided to rest Nacho Monreal for the big clash in Germany, or perhaps it may be that Gibbs has been seen as a better choice over Monreal.

Monreal’s performance this season hasn’t quite matched up his achievements last season.

While Gibbs is stronger in his crosses in the final third, everyone witnessed his horrible mistake in the Hull game, which could have gotten him a straight red and a ban on 3 domestic games.

If Gibbs were to repeat his mistake, it will surely be a red. There has to be more communication among the back four and more initiative taken.

Should Wenger see this game as an opportunity to push his players forward and cross into the center for Alexis Sanchez, Gibbs will be the preferred choice.

The question many will have is, should Elneny, Oxlade-Chamberlain or Coquelin play?

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been doing a pretty good job in central midfield ever since Arsenal’s 5-0 thrashing of Southampton.

Granit Xhaka is set to make his return after being banned for 4 straight matches. I strongly believe that he will play against Bayern Munich as he makes his return to Germany to face the Bundesliga giants. But his partner remains a mystery man.

There is no doubt that Coquelin puts in effort into games each and every week, but it may be till some time before we see him get a goal or an assist.

Bayern are the favourites although Arsenal seemingly has an advantage because the second leg of the round of 16 is being played at the Emirates. Hence, Xhaka should be handed the job of protecting the back four and allowing an attacking central midfielder, like Oxlade-Chamberlain, to control the game.

Alexis Sanchez is fully certain to play a huge role in leading Arsenal’s attack, after his impressive form game after game.

As Theo Walcott continues his search for his 100th goal, disappointing finishes and results have hampered his progress. In the last few minutes that Lucas Perez played on Saturday, he looked stronger defensively than Walcott. Wenger may take a gamble and play him against a big team.

Danny Welbeck has been on the bench for quite a long time after his first start of the season in the FA Cup. While many are eager to see him play, Wenger may opt to start him in the FA Cup match against Sutton United instead of this Bayern match.

Singaporean student, aspiring to be a football journalist in the future.
Started following the Premier League in 2015 and am a huge fan of Arsenal.
I am able to speak English, Chinese, French and dialects.